I liked this book a lot when I was reading it, but now, less than a month later, I can't remember much about the book. What does that say? In some ways I see it as normal, the story of a book falls away after time, especially if you read a lot of fiction. Also, I think it would be good for a reread, and not remembering much is a plus. Today, while writing this review, I did reread one chapter and I enjoyed rereading it.
The six people in the book club are Jocelyn and Sylvia, both in their early 50s; Allegra, Sylvia's daughter, 30 years old; Prudie, a teacher, 28 years old; Bernadette, the oldest member at 67; and Grigg, the only male, in his forties. Jocelyn is the one who set up the book club and invited members. Everyone in the group knows the others except for Grigg, and the others wonder why Jocelyn included a male and where she met him.
The story covers March through August in one year, one book club meeting for each Austen book, and has an epilogue in November. All of the book club members are fans of Austen's books, except for Grigg who is reading them for the first time.
My Thoughts...
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much; it was a good read, and kept me entertained. But I did have some very minor criticisms. One thing that sometimes took me out of the story was the narration, which seemed to be an amalgamation of the book club group. It wasn't entirely negative, just jolting at times. After finishing the book, I looked this up and it is described as first person plural point of view. The entire book was not in that point of view, only portions of each chapter.
The book was less about the Austen books than I would have liked, but I enjoyed the individual stories about the members of the book club. And it did make me want to reread the Austen novels. I last read Sense and Sensibility in 2022, and the other five novels in 2017.
I was surprised by the ratings for this book on Goodreads. There are nearly 70,000 ratings, and over 5,000 reviews. But there are more 3 star ratings than any other rating and a good number of 1 stars, 2 stars, and DNFs. My rating would be 4.5. I especially liked that the writing style was different and how the back stories were worked into the story gradually.
The book has a short section at the back summarizing all the Jane Austen novel, plus several pages of quotations about Austen and her books from various sources. I found both of these useful and interesting.
I am eager to explore more books by this author.
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Publisher: A Marian Wood Book, Putnam, 2004.
Length: 288 pages
Format: Hardcover
Setting: Davis, California
Genre: Fiction
Source: I purchased my copy in 2023.
20 comments:
I read this book quite a few years ago and I also remember feeling that if you are going to write a book about a Jane Aueten Book Club her novels should factor more in the story. And as I recall we got a few words about each of Austen's books but then the focus went towards the issues the women were having in their lives. I felt that Jane Austen's novels were used as props almost and her books are so much more than that and needed to be given more attention. But maybe it's time for a reread.
I love the Austen novels and probably would enjoy this but it would be very hard for a writer to really reflect multiple takes on novels as great as these. So I think her only choice is to concentrate on the people in a book group and discussions about their issues that maybe mirror the characters.
Good Reads cannot be taken seriously. It is entirely corrupted, with people encouraged to post good reviews and those "haters" that like wielding power. Same with Amazon. Some post repeatedly using various names. Could there really be 70, 000 people who had something to say about a novel.
It always makes me feel better to hear others say how quickly they forget details of the books they read. I tend to read in advance for my book club (to make sure I can get the book in time, if from the library), so I like when I can find discussion questions to help me remember things once we meet.
I do like the bookish theme, Tracy, and it can be interesting to follow the lives of book club members. Based on the title, I'd have expected more Jane Austen, too, but it sounds as though for the most part, you enjoyed the book.
Kathy, I definitely had expectations of more about the books and was disappointed in that area, although the section at the end describing the books did help mitigate that. I will have to look around for a different book that would fufill those needs.
Some reviewers thought that each character in the book was representative of a Jane Austen character, and I never thought about that while I was reading the book.
Patti, I get your point about the inclusion of multiple viewpoints on the book, and the author did that to a certain point. I might have enjoyed a lengthier book that would go into more detail on some points. I cannot believe I am asking for more pages in a book; that is not like me at all.
I don't really take Goodreads ratings that seriously, although I have found some very good reviews there. John Grant of Noirish used to post all of his reviews there and I really miss them. The problem is that I have always liked numbers; my major in college was mathematics. I cannot see numbers and statistics and ignore them. I have to evaluate them.
Kelly, This book also has a section of Reader's Guide questions, with some from each of the characters in the book. It was interesting, not the usual type of guide. I need to go back and look at those.
Yes, it is good to know that we are not the only ones who forget what happened in books. Sometimes it is a real problem in trying to write some kind of review.
Margot, I did enjoy the book and that is the important part. It has been described as Chick Lit, although I don't see it that way. It has some romance (makes sense, since it is about books by Austen), and it was the kind of romance story that I enjoy. I am very glad I read it and I don't know what motivated me to buy it.
I've never read this book, but I think I saw part of the movie once when it aired on TV. I don't remember much about it, only that there was one guy in the book club, and they read Jane Austen. Glad you enjoyed this one.
Lark, I would not mind seeing the movie, someday. Often I am too picky when I watch an adaptation of a book, especially soon after reading it.
I haven't read this one but I've seen it around a lot, so it seems to have done quite well for itself despite the GoodReads ratings. Sure has a lot of them, and that says something too. Isn't it amazing how quickly the details escape us...I do think that's because we read so many books instead of savoring just one or two a month. Even with notes, I lose enough to make waiting too long to prepare a review a real challenge.
Same thing here, Sam. Taking notes helps, but if I wait too long, it is really hard to write a review.
I enjoyed this book, but I can see why many readers did not. It was hard to follow, but still fun to read.
I remember seeing the movie years ago, back in 2007? I think it was pretty entertaining but probably differed from the book quite a bit. It's a great premise for a book ... though sometimes there's not always enough about the books in the plot, argh!
Susan, this book motivates me to reread the Austen novels, but I don't know where I will find time to fit them in. I remember most of the plot and characters for Pride and Prejudice but the other ones I get mixed up. We did see an adaptation of Emma recently. I would love to be part of a Jane Austen book club.
I gave it a low score but I don't remember specifics, only that the stories of the six people were less interesting to me than the Austen characters. I think I felt she was just trying to use JA as bait to the reader. However, you are right that it made me want to reread Austen which may have been one goal. I preferred a series Harper Collins UK did several years ago that were modern retellings. I got my book group to read the one on Northanger Abbey which I thought was very clever. Not sure I read all six - must check. https://www.waterstones.com/booklist/286811/the-austen-project
The only other book of Fowler's I have read was The Sweetheart Season - a great concept, based on the original Betty Crocker kitchen and the women who worked there who played softball. But I felt the story didn't deliver.
Constance, I cannot say I don't like Austen retellings because I have not tried any of them. But in general retellings don't appeal to me. I am sure it depends on the author. I have considered trying Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters because I have enjoyed Ben H. Winters writing.
Thanks for your thoughts on The Sweetheart Season also.
I read this when it first came out, and you made me smile with your comment on not remembering details! Same here. I am pretty sure that I enjoyed it well enough, but was (maybe unfairly) expecting more: I thought I would love it but I didn't. I do remember that weird narrative style, which I did not care for. I have read other books by her - she has written about very varied topics indeed!
Moira, I think that one problem with this book was that the title attracted a lot of Jane Austen fans whose expectations were not met. I was initially not interested because of the title but decided many years later that it might be fun. And it was. I guess I really wanted more meat in both the Austen parts and the stories of the members of the club, but I think it was a fine book just as it was. I liked all of the characters, some more than others. it was a good "book about books" because it encouraged me to read more Austen and more by Karen Joy Taylor.
Liked book and film! (perhaps more soon...)
Todd, I will have to watch the film someday. It is good to hear from you and I hope your health is improving.
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